Report from South Texas

duajones · April 28, 2011

Overall a different year than I have seen here since I started growing in ground.
Hardly any fungal issues at all since I have only had around a quarter inch of rain since I put the plants in the ground.
Applied Daconil early and again a couple weeks ago when the evening dew was heavy as a preventative.

Very little pest issues to this point other than leaf miners.
I usually have some leaf miner activity every year but it usually isnt enough to even worry about.
It is pretty bad right now and I will do a spinosad spray in the next day or two.

Production is down from most years with the exception of the lone plant that I put in early as I do most years.
I decided to put off my main plant out until March 1st, being lazy and not wanting to cover them several times like I have had to in the past.

One example is Moskvich, which was very productive last year. My lone plant is 6ft tall and very healthy looking but it struggled with fruitset from the get go. Counted maybe 15 fruit on the plant where this time last year it had
probably 40 plus.
Another is Azoychka. I harvested 50 plus fruit from one plant last year and threw away another 20 or so as it became a stinkbug magnet.
I counted 18 on my lone plant today.

All of my plants look real healthy and I am hoping quality vs quantity will be the theme this year.

Hope you all have a great growing year!

b54red · April 28, 2011

That doesn't sound too bad. Maybe you've lost blossoms to high heat and very high winds like I have. The high winds have just sucked the water out of the plants and I think that stresses them and reduces fruit set. We have had unusually high winds for this late in the year. March came in like a lion and stayed. Trying to spray anything has been a real chore. I think I get more on me than the plants and most of it has just blown away. I have already seen some early blight and lost one to fusarium and one to TSWV. The only insect problem I have had is thrips on the tomatoes and aphids on the peppers. I have had a lot of leaf curling at the tops of very healthy plants but I don't know what that is.

We got an inch of rain last night without any tornadoes so I was very thankful. I went out today to put some plants in the ground and when I dug down a few inches in some spots the ground was still very dry but at least it was a bit cooler.

Mojo · May 1, 2011

This sounds about right. We have been hit with south winds for most of the last three weeks. I am watering every three days and I'm still skeptical that it's enough. Production is down across the board. And as today is the first of May, it is only a matter of time before the Unholy Army of stink bugs begins to show up.

But thank heavens for cucumbers! Got a bumper crop going right now... And the heat has been a boon for my eggplants, which are coming early and strong this year.

b54red · May 1, 2011

Wish I could say the same about the cucumbers but the high winds and heat seem to have really slowed them down also. Maybe the rain we got the other day will get them going. My squash has done great and I had a bumper crop of broccoli this spring. The humidity has really dropped the last few days and that has made a real difference with the Early Blight; I just wish it would hold for a few days and allow better fruit set.

ArcherB · May 4, 2011

I hope no one minds if I put in my $0.02 for comparison purposes.

Report from Central Texas:

Wind and dry weather have taken a toll here in central Texas.

While I used to some springtime wind, this year has been exceptional. It seems every single day we see winds of 25mph+. All plants are showing wind damage in the leaves. I guess I should be thankful that we haven't seen any tornadoes like our southern brothers to our east. Stem damage has been minimal.

Of course, it's been bone dry as well. I planted six plants out in mid February (under WOW's) and we have not seen any significant rain since then with the exception of a 10 minute shower on Sunday.

Temps have gotten up to the high 90's and then this week, have dropped down to the mid 40's. I am hoping the cool temps will help me get more fruitset before the temps shoot back up to the mid 90's by the end of the week.

As for fruitset, it's been hit or miss. Five of the six that I planted early have set fruit. On my south facing fence 11/14 of my plants have set fruit, including the six early ones. Some plants set as early as March 9. Some have set as recently this last weekend. I counted 14 fruit on one plant and others only have one or two. Like I said, it's been hit or miss.

My south bed runs along a wooden fence so it has remained shaded until recently. The sun is now high enough to give them direct sunlight for longer in the day. That bed has four plants that are stunted due to some herbicide damage (stupid horse manure) and seven more plants that are doing fine. Of the seven healthy plants, four have set fruit. One of those is a cherry.

Basil is doing well and onions and garlic seem to be growing like gang busters.

That's all I got from Central.

b54red · May 5, 2011

Funny thing about fruit set this year is the way most of my lower blossoms set little or no fruit. I'm now seeing a good bit of fruit set higher up the plants with this lower humidity and temperatures. The only plants that set a decent amount on the first two blossom trusses were a couple of the hearts and Spudakee and even they only set one to three fruits. Last year it was not unusual to see lower trusses with 5 to 8 fruits set. It seems the combination of high heat, high humidity and high winds really took a toll on fruit development for a couple of weeks. Although the winds are still high the humidity and temps have dropped after the big storms came through the region.

April 28, 2011	#1
duajones Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Dec 2006 Location: Corpus Christi,Texas Z9 Posts: 1,996	Report from South Texas Overall a different year than I have seen here since I started growing in ground. Hardly any fungal issues at all since I have only had around a quarter inch of rain since I put the plants in the ground. Applied Daconil early and again a couple weeks ago when the evening dew was heavy as a preventative. Very little pest issues to this point other than leaf miners. I usually have some leaf miner activity every year but it usually isnt enough to even worry about. It is pretty bad right now and I will do a spinosad spray in the next day or two. Production is down from most years with the exception of the lone plant that I put in early as I do most years. I decided to put off my main plant out until March 1st, being lazy and not wanting to cover them several times like I have had to in the past. One example is Moskvich, which was very productive last year. My lone plant is 6ft tall and very healthy looking but it struggled with fruitset from the get go. Counted maybe 15 fruit on the plant where this time last year it had probably 40 plus. Another is Azoychka. I harvested 50 plus fruit from one plant last year and threw away another 20 or so as it became a stinkbug magnet. I counted 18 on my lone plant today. All of my plants look real healthy and I am hoping quality vs quantity will be the theme this year. Hope you all have a great growing year! __________________ Duane Jones

May 1, 2011	#3
Mojo Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Mar 2008 Location: Houston, TX Posts: 317	This sounds about right. We have been hit with south winds for most of the last three weeks. I am watering every three days and I'm still skeptical that it's enough. Production is down across the board. And as today is the first of May, it is only a matter of time before the Unholy Army of stink bugs begins to show up. But thank heavens for cucumbers! Got a bumper crop going right now... And the heat has been a boon for my eggplants, which are coming early and strong this year. __________________ There is no logical response to the question, "Why won't you let me plant more tomatoes?"

May 4, 2011	#5
ArcherB Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Feb 2009 Location: Austin TX Posts: 200	I hope no one minds if I put in my $0.02 for comparison purposes. Report from Central Texas: Wind and dry weather have taken a toll here in central Texas. While I used to some springtime wind, this year has been exceptional. It seems every single day we see winds of 25mph+. All plants are showing wind damage in the leaves. I guess I should be thankful that we haven't seen any tornadoes like our southern brothers to our east. Stem damage has been minimal. Of course, it's been bone dry as well. I planted six plants out in mid February (under WOW's) and we have not seen any significant rain since then with the exception of a 10 minute shower on Sunday. Temps have gotten up to the high 90's and then this week, have dropped down to the mid 40's. I am hoping the cool temps will help me get more fruitset before the temps shoot back up to the mid 90's by the end of the week. As for fruitset, it's been hit or miss. Five of the six that I planted early have set fruit. On my south facing fence 11/14 of my plants have set fruit, including the six early ones. Some plants set as early as March 9. Some have set as recently this last weekend. I counted 14 fruit on one plant and others only have one or two. Like I said, it's been hit or miss. My south bed runs along a wooden fence so it has remained shaded until recently. The sun is now high enough to give them direct sunlight for longer in the day. That bed has four plants that are stunted due to some herbicide damage (stupid horse manure) and seven more plants that are doing fine. Of the seven healthy plants, four have set fruit. One of those is a cherry. Basil is doing well and onions and garlic seem to be growing like gang busters. That's all I got from Central. Last edited by ArcherB; May 4, 2011 at 10:56 AM. Reason: grammar edits. I'll never catch them all!

April 28, 2011	#2
b54red Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Sep 2009 Location: Alabama Posts: 7,068	That doesn't sound too bad. Maybe you've lost blossoms to high heat and very high winds like I have. The high winds have just sucked the water out of the plants and I think that stresses them and reduces fruit set. We have had unusually high winds for this late in the year. March came in like a lion and stayed. Trying to spray anything has been a real chore. I think I get more on me than the plants and most of it has just blown away. I have already seen some early blight and lost one to fusarium and one to TSWV. The only insect problem I have had is thrips on the tomatoes and aphids on the peppers. I have had a lot of leaf curling at the tops of very healthy plants but I don't know what that is. We got an inch of rain last night without any tornadoes so I was very thankful. I went out today to put some plants in the ground and when I dug down a few inches in some spots the ground was still very dry but at least it was a bit cooler.

May 5, 2011	#6
b54red Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Sep 2009 Location: Alabama Posts: 7,068	Funny thing about fruit set this year is the way most of my lower blossoms set little or no fruit. I'm now seeing a good bit of fruit set higher up the plants with this lower humidity and temperatures. The only plants that set a decent amount on the first two blossom trusses were a couple of the hearts and Spudakee and even they only set one to three fruits. Last year it was not unusual to see lower trusses with 5 to 8 fruits set. It seems the combination of high heat, high humidity and high winds really took a toll on fruit development for a couple of weeks. Although the winds are still high the humidity and temps have dropped after the big storms came through the region.